Burros win close one to move to 2-0 in DSL

Monday

Dec 17, 2012 at 11:40 AMDec 17, 2012 at 1:33 PM

The Burros have won a lot of tight ball games this season by finding different ways to come away with wins.Friday was no different as the Burroughs boys basketball team defeated Granite Hills 48-47 in the Burroughs Barn.

Brad KesterDI Sports

RIDGECREST­ — The Burros have won a lot of tight ball games this season by finding different ways to come away with wins.Friday was no different as the Burroughs boys basketball team defeated Granite Hills 48-47 in the Burroughs Barn."We're starting to hit a point where we are finally making some big strides," BHS Coach Doug Hayes said. "It's been frustrating at times, but things are beginning to change for us. You work and work and work and work, and at some point, you start to see glimpses of growth. Soon you see it more often and victories come because of it."The Burros scored only four points in the third quarter and trailed 35-28 going into the fourth frame, but Burroughs found a way to pick itself up and claw its way to a win with a stellar fourth quarter.Burroughs guard Michael Polman got the Burros back in the game instantly with a four-point play to start the fourth quarter and went on an 8-0 run by himself to get the Burroughs moving offensively after the bad third quarter.By the time Polman's run ended, the Burros had retaken the lead at 36-35."Michael is capable of doing that on any given night," Hayes said. "He's looking to find his stride with the varsity team right now. Once he does, he's going to be a dangerous guard to deal with. He finally trusted his left hand tonight and got layups because of it. Three weeks ago that wouldn't have happened. He did some really good things tonight, and once he keeps his confidence high all game long, gains more experience and gets more reps, he'll be really tough for anyone to handle."The Cougars answered Polman's run with one of their own in the middle of the frame. Granite Hills' 10-4 run left Burroughs looking for answers in the last half of the fourth quarter.The Burros found their answer in Jesse Young. The Burroughs senior center had seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter by establishing great post position and converting easy attempts."That's a big thing for him," Hayes said. "Once he shook off a bit of melancholy and started going at it, he played extremely well. He's a competitor and that's really hard to do for someone who has been doing something else until just recently. It's taken kids a long time to get readjusted to the game of basketball. It's hard for anyone to have an instant change over."He was playing extremely well all summer and now we're starting to see flashes of it again. He's only going to get better."Young also led the team in rebounding with 10, four of which were offensive. With 39.3 seconds left in the game, the Burros trailed 47-45, and the Cougars had possession of the basketball.Granite Hills (3-7, 0-2 DSL) turned the ball over in its last four possessions of the ball game, which opened the door for the Burroughs win.Young scored to tie the game at 47-all and Kauppi got to the free-throw line with 6.5 seconds left in the game to try to take the win from Granite.Kauppi missed the first one, but knocked down the second to give the Burros a one-point advantage. Granite raced down the floor and turned it over one last time with Calvin Martin coming up with the steal to win the ball game.Kauppi has now made two game-winning shots this season. He hit the 3-pointer that beat Tehachapi on Dec. 4 and made the free throw that won the game for the Burros Friday."Kauppi is just a go-getter type of competitor," Hayes said. "He'll step up and go at it. He'll say, 'I'll take the responsibility in big moments.' He's just a clutch kid."With the win, the Burros are now 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the Desert Sky League."To get back up and fight back like that after having a bad third quarter says a lot about our kids," Hayes said. "We have kids that can come through when it matters."The Burros were led by Michael Polman's 12 points and three assists. Young almost had himself a double-double in scoring nine points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Alex Ledford had seven points and two steals. Calvin Martin had five points and six rebounds. Kauppi had four points and three steals, while Matt Polman added another five points in the win.The Burros only made three 3s on the night, which is the second-lowest total in two years (two against Granite Hills on Dec. 12, 2011 was the lowest), but Hayes said that part of the Burros' game will come with the way the Burros are playing now."When we work the ball inside-out, it opens up our shooters and we have good enough shooters to make teams pay for collapsing down on our bigs. We also have guys that can take advantage of one-on-one opportunities in the post when they get them, so we're coming to the realization that we have the opportunity to be pretty good."The Burros move on to face perennial DSL power Silverado at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19 in Victorville. The Hawks are 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the DSL.